The Case of European Alcohol Consumption

[Agrippa]

Genetic Variability and the Formation of Social Norms:
The Case of European Alcohol Consumption
Eric Nævdal* and Jason F. Shogren†
Abstract
Alcohol consumption patterns vary across Europe. Northern Europeans frequently engage in excessive drinking in social situations (EDSS), behavior less common in southern Europe. We develop a model to explore whether these behavioral differences could be rooted in genetic variations across Europe and then compounded by social reinforcement mechanisms. Our results suggest conditions exist in which EDSS can emerge as a strategy in a larger fraction of the population than is genetically predisposed to EDSS. Implications for the current effort to harmonize alcohol policy across the European Union are
explored.

http://www-sekon.slu.se/~bkr/ulv04naevdal.pdf
From the paper:

Determinants of alcohol use in Southern & Northern Europe
A comprehensive study by Leifman (2002) confirms the mind-set that significant differences actually exist in drinking patterns across regions. The study finds that although the frequency of alcohol consumption occasions and average annual consumption figures are lower in the Nordic countries, excessive drinking in social situations (EDSS) is more predominant in northern Europe than in the South.2
We now present our argument in five steps to explain how genetic variations translate into frequent EDSS in northern Europe. The link of causality follows:
1. In a comprehensive study of shyness, Kagan (1994) found an active norepinephrine system, originating in the part of the brain called amygdale, to be highly correlated with shyness. Remarkably, Kagan also observed a high correlation between an active norepinephrine system and several external physiological characteristics, the most prominent being blue eyes and tall ectomorphic bodies. The association between blue eyes and shyness has been replicated in male preschoolers by Coplan et al (1998) who found that 30 percent of blue eyed males fell into the category socially wary whereas only three percent of the males without blue eyes did. These physiological features are more common in northern European countries than in the south. This suggests that one may reasonably expect that shyness is more common among people of northern Europeans decent than southern Europeans. Schwartz et al. (2003) observed that the shy
individuals in an earlier study by Kagan had a tendency to remain shy; and this shyness continued to manifest itself in the amygdala. This point matters for our purposes since it indicates that observed variations in shyness among children will partially continue into the age when alcohol consumption starts.
2. Several coping strategies exist for shyness in social situations. The classic strategy is to use alcohol as self-medication, which can lead to excessive drinking, i.e., EDSS. Many studies confirm this view.3
3. Given steps 1 and 2, it follows a larger fraction of the population in
northern Europe should have a greater genetic disposition for EDSS.
4. If the fraction of the population with EDSS genetic disposition is
sufficiently large, social reinforcement mechanisms could come into play.
People frequently adapt to the behavior of others, Banerjee (1992). If EDSS is atypical, it is considered anti-social. If EDSS is relatively common, it has a “legitimizing” effect and EDSS becomes socially acceptable. A fundamental property of humans is that social behavior is learned. The simplest way to learn social behavior is to mimic it. If EDSS is prevalent, it could spread to people without a genetic disposition for shyness. EDSS then becomes a norm for behavior of shy and non-shy
people.
5. If steps 1-4 hold, we should observe a larger fraction of the population that engages in EDSS in northern Europe than in southern Europe. Our social norm hypothesis is that EDSS will emerge as a strategy in a larger fraction of the population than the fraction genetically predisposed to EDSS.

Compare the part about the physiological type and constitutional variation (tall, blue-eyed ectomorphs) with this threads about constitution typologies:
http://forum.skadi.net/showthread.php?t=8778
http://forum.skadi.net/showthread.php?t=53225
Body types of women:
http://forum.skadi.net/showthread.php?t=68169
Mental disorders (especially bipolar disorder) and obesity:
http://forum.skadi.net/mental_disord...ty-t60811.html
Fat and brain power:
http://forum.skadi.net/more_fat_less...er-t79483.html
Through mixing customs and drinking patterns, all Europeans will become EDSS-affected

Our model predicts the initial response of cultural mixing is for the high-drinking culture to reduce drinking and therefore also show decreasing values of α. This initial response is consistent with Leifmann’s finding of a convergence with reduced levels of EDSS in northern countries and increased EDSS in southern countries. But our model predicts that over time this initial effect is fully reversed. One can show if these two cultures are mixed, the development of α1, α2 and α3 is qualitatively similar to the paths in Figure 2. We still see convergence, but the low-drinking culture monotonously increases consumption and also α3 until it fully mimics the high-drinking culture, i.e., southern European countries could have levels of EDSS similar to northern countries.
How drinking patterns play out over time in the EU remains to be established
empirically. It has been reported that teenagers in Spain are starting to mimic
drinking behavior of northern European teenagers (see Gual and Colom, 1997). If our predictions are valid, current EU policy and the cultural integration of Europe could in conjunction lead to EDSS as a norm for more of Europe with severe social and economic costs for the entire continent.

Kagan, for instance, suggests northern Europeans have an active norepinephrine system due to the cold climate. In a cold climate, there is a fitness gain to physiological adaptations that encourage high metabolic rates. One such adaptation is an active norepinephrine system caused by neuro-chemical processes in the amygdala. This explanation suggests an evolutionary genetic selection process explains why shyness is more frequent in northern Europe. Furthermore, shyness in itself is not the trait selected for, but rather a side effect to a high metabolic rate.

Here other aspects of behavioural advantages and disadvantages should have been considered too I'd say. As well as correlations between eye color, physiological type as such and constitutional phenotype, with all three being indepenently analysed for various populations.

It is an open question whetherthe emergence of EDSS in itself provides some evolutionary advantage. At a first glance the answer appears to be “no” since mortality risk arises with EDSS. Alternatively, the short term gains from applying a social lubricant that promotes interaction between people in a population with many shy individuals may outweigh the long term costs of mortality risk on both a social and a personal level. This remains to be established in future work.

Nice and refreshing article overall, which I found here:
http://www.biodiversityforum.com
Some flaws or better vacancies being present though. One element, beside considering other environmental influences working in Northern Europe and older cultural patterns more, seems to be to me to not thinking about different effects of excessive alcohol consumption in different genetic variants. Not just because of the general personality type, but also because of a different digestion of alcohol itself, which was discussed in other works for different populations (!).